Electrical appliances comprising two components that are hinged together often include an electrical connection between the two components. This connection needs to be protected mechanically. It is thus common practice to incorporate the connection with the hinge, and this applies both to connections in the form of twisted wires and to connections in the form of a flexible circuit. When the room available inside the hinge is limited, then so is the number of individual connections that can be provided by means of twisted wires. If a flexible circuit is disposed perpendicularly to the hinge axis, it is subjected to considerable mechanical stress whenever the components rotate relative to each other, and this has a direct effect on the reliability of the electrical connection.
French patent application FR-A-2 194 224 describes a device designed to mitigate these drawbacks, in part. However, the electrical connection follows a path that is pierced through the wall of each of the two hinged components, thereby making it difficult, and in some cases even impossible, to insert the electrical connection into the hinge. In addition, since the hinge described is made conventionally by means of hinge knuckles that are juxtaposed with a certain amount of clearance, rain and dust can infiltrate via the clearance between a knuckle on one component and an adjacent knuckle on the other, and this is objectionable for appliances that are used in a wide range of environments, in particular out-of-doors.
An object of the present invention is thus to provide a device comprising two components that are hinged together and that are interconnected by an electrical connection which is subjected to little stress during rotation, the device also providing good sealing against rain and dust, and facilitating installation of the electrical circuit within the hinge.